Clint Hurdle tried to simplify what was a very complicated game.
“We had the wrong result,” he said after a Saturday afternoon game against the Brewers stretched well into the evening at PNC Park.
Indeed, the Pirates did as they lost, 12-10, in 13 innings. Orlando Arcia’s two-run home run off Alex McRae with two outs sent the Pirates (28-29) to their ninth loss in their last 13 games.
In many regards, the ebbs of flows were more reminiscent of a basketball game than baseball.
The Pirates rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the third inning to pull ahead 7-5 by the fifth. Then the Brewers moved back in front. Then the Pirates regained the lead. Then the Brewers tied it in the ninth and eventually won it four innings later.
“We poured everything had out there,” Hurdle said when asked about the ups and downs of the afternoon/evening. “We had opportunities to win it on the mound. We had opportunities to win it at the plate. We didn’t win it. So, at the end of the day it just reaffirms the fact anybody who thinks they’ve got (baseball) figured out, surprise, things happen along the way. The fight in this club, it never stopped, and we came up on the wrong side.”
McRae certainly poured everything he had into the game, but the rookie right-hander took the loss in his third inning of relief as Arcia hit a sinker 413 feet over the center-field fence.
McRae wound up throwing 63 pitches after having only one day of rest since a 42-pitch outing in a loss to the Brewers on Thursday night.
McRae talked about taking the loss:
“We asked a lot out of him,” Hurdle said. “He gave us his heart. He gave us his soul. He gave us everything he had. He pitched his heart out.”
For his effort, McRae (0-1) will likely be optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday as the Pirates will want to add at least one fresh arm for the finale of the four-game series. He was brought up from Indy on Monday to help an overworked bullpen that was facing a doubleheader that day against the Reds at Cincinnati.
However, McRae said fatigue was not a factor in serving up the game-winning homer.
“I didn’t feel like I was tiring or slowing down at all,” he said. “I felt like I was still executing pitches and doing the things I needed to do. I made a bad pitch and paid for it.”
Two of the Pirates’ most reliable relievers also gave up pivotal home runs.
Francisco Liriano served up a three-run blast to Christian Yelich in the sixth inning that put the Brewers on top 8-7. It was Yelich’s 22nd home run of the season, which leads the major leagues.
Shoddy fielding enabled Yelich to keep his bat alive. The reigning National League MVP lofted a foul pop just beyond the third-base bag and Colin Moran camped under it. However, Moran was distracted when Newman yelled “you got it!” and the ball fell untouched.
“You say nothing in that situation,” Hurdle said, clearly making the point that Newman was at fault. “Moran heard a voice and peeled off. It was poor execution. That’s an out and we paid the price heavily for it.”
Starling Marte put the Pirates back in front in the eighth with a three-run homer off Josh Hader that made it 10-8. It was Hader’s first blown save in 14 opportunities.
Marte, though, hit into a fielder’s choice with one out in the bases loaded in the 12th with a chance to win the game. Adrian Houser then got the red-hot Bell to chase a high-and-outside fastball for strike three to end the inning. Bell had his roughest game of the season, going 0 for 6 with a strikeout.
Hader wasn’t the only closer to blow a save. Felipe Vazquez’s streak of 14 in a row to start the season ended when rookie Keston Hiura drove a fastball over the heart of the plate into the left-field bleachers in the ninth inning for a two-run homer that knotted the score at 10.
“I was trying to get the pitch inside and I didn’t get it inside,” Vazquez said. “A game like this, you have to forget about it and come back fresh tomorrow. That’s the closer mentality. I understand I’m not always going to be perfect.”
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
Elias Diaz continues to swing a hot bat, as he went 3 for 7 with four RBIs, including a three-run double in a four-run third inning that drew the Pirates within a run.
Diaz has been getting the majority of starts at catcher with Francisco Cervelli on the seven-day concussion injured list. In fact, Diaz has been in the lineup in 13 of the last 17 games, going 22-for-56 (.393) with 11 RBIs.
Even though Diaz grounded into a game-ending double play against Houser, it was hard to find fault with his performance.
“He just continues to push his skill set forward,” Hurdle said. “He wants to be a major-league starting catcher. He’s got a dream like every other kid out there.”
That dream might be on the verge of coming true. Diaz could continue to get the bulk of the starts behind the plate even after the return of Cervelli, who is hitting just .193/.279/.248 with one home run in 34 games.
THE BAD
Nick Kingham followed a small step forward on Monday with a big step backward Saturday.
The right-hander lasted just three innings and threw 74 pitches to get nine outs. The Brewers tagged him for five runs and six hits, but he was taken off the hook for the loss when the Pirates rallied.
In the opener of the Memorial Day doubleheader, Kingham held the Reds scoreless through the first four innings. He was lifted during a three-run fifth.
Kingham is 1-1 with an 8.91 ERA in 13 games this season, including four starts.
“Mistakes were made,” Hurdle said. “Spin was in the zone. He wasn’t able to get the fastball located.”
Kingham talked about his outing:
THE OTHER SIDE
Arcia also hit a two-run home run off Kingham in the second inning to increase the Brewers' lead to 4-0.
It marked the first multi-homer game of Arcia's four-year career. The shortstop was more happy about bringing an end to a long day at the ballpark.
"You don't want to play that long and not get a win," Arcia said.
The Brewers (33-26) won for the fourth time in their last six games.
THE DATA
• Marte went 4 for 7, giving the center fielder multiple hits in four of his last five games. He is 11 for 25 (.440) in that span.
• Newman singled and scored on Marte's homer in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 11 games.
• Bryan Reynolds walked as a pinch hitter in the third but his 10-game hitting streak remained intact because he did not record an official at-bat in the game.
• A total of 513 pitches were thrown.
• The game lasted five hours and 23 minutes.
THE INJURIES
• Corey Dickerson, left fielder, is on the 60-day IL with a right posterior shoulder strain and is on a rehab assignment with Class AAA Indianapolis.
• Francisco Cervelli, catcher, is on the seven-day concussion IL.
• Jung Ho Kang, third baseman, is on the 10-day IL with a left side strain and is on a rehab assignment with Indianapolis.
• Jameson Taillon, right-hander, is on the 60-day IL with a right elbow flexor tendon strain.
• Trevor Williams, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with a right side strain.
• Keone Kela, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with right shoulder inflammation and has had his rehab assignment with Indianapolis stopped.
• Chris Stratton, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with right side discomfort.
• Erik Gonzalez, shortstop, is on the 60-day IL with a left clavicle fracture.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder, is on the 60-day IL with a right finger fracture and left calf strain and recurring calf tightness and his rehabilitation assignment with Indianapolis has been stopped.
• Nick Burdi, relief pitcher, is on the 60-day IL with right elbow/biceps pain caused by a nerve problem and is rehabbing at the Pirates' spring training facility in Bradenton, Fla.
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates and Brewers conclude their four-game series at 1:35 p.m. Sunday with Jordan Lyles (5-2, 3.09) pitching against Zach Davies (5-0, 2.19). Lyles' three-start winning streak was snapped on Tuesday with a loss to the Reds at Cincinnati. Davies has taken no-decisions in three of his last four starts. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez was originally scheduled to start for the Brewers but was placed on the 10-day IL on Saturday with arm fatigue. DK, Matt Sunday and I will be on the coverage, beginning with the opening of the home clubhouse at 11 a.m.
THE COVERAGE
All our expanded baseball coverage, including Indy Watch by Matt Welch, Altoona Watch by Jarrod Prugar, and Mound Visit by Jason Rollison, can be found on our team page.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates vs. Brewers, PNC Park, June 1, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS